East Bengal saves relegation scare from I-League

Kozhikode (Kerala), Feb 17 (IANS) Bengal giants East Bengal saved themselves from relegation as they outplayed hosts Viva Kerala 3-1 in in the penultimate round of the I-League football tournament here Sunday. With this defeat the Viva will be now be relegated from the league. Viva worked hard in the home ground to keep its chances alive in the League but failed to make any impact. The first goal of the match came in 20th minute when East Bengal captain Syed Rahim Nabi neatly placed the ball in the net from a Alvito D’ Cunha cross.

Viva’s constant pressure found result in the dead end of the first half. Ebin Rose connected an immaculate cross from right-winger Lalu, which gave no chance to East Bengal custodian Subrata Paul. The ball landed in the net after deflecting from the vertical piece.

The hosts pressed hard in the second session with a number of raids, but they failed to penetrate East Bengal goal.

In the 57th minute, capitalising on a defensive lapse, East Bengal scored their second goal. A pass from Nabi caught the Viva defence on the wrong foot and Alvito foxed two defenders to lob the ball into the net over the head of Viva goalie Nelson.

East Bengal sealed Viva’s fate with a brilliant goal from Edmilson Marques. Positioned just inside the penalty box, Marques redirected a long aerial ball from Alvito into the goal.